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Topic: No Cooling (Read 8283 times)

Hi, we have had this model GE Side-by-Side for about 7 years now. I started smelling food going bad before realising it was not working or making ice. The freezer side is 40F and the food side is 70F. I cleaned the condenser coil which is underneath the unit. The last time I worked on a refrigerator the coil was on the back so the design has changed a lot since then. I can hear a fan behind the ice maker which I asume is the freezer evaporator fan, I can also hear that same fan in the top of the food compartment but I,m not sure if there should be another fan or even if this fridge has 2 evaporators. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Lee in VA.

Check the fan motor on the rear at the compressor. Is it running? If not, could be a bad fan motor causing the problem. Listen for a intermittent clicking sound from the compressor. If a clicking sound is heard it could be a bad start relay on the compressor.Since your evaporator fan motor is working in the freezer your defrost timer should be in running position. That would rule out a bad defrost timer.If you have a volt/ohm meter you could check continuity on the off/on cold control thermostat. No continuity would be a bad control.If you do have a clicking compressor that would rule out a bad cold control.

The compressor does not run in defrost mode. Remove the rear maintenence panel in the freezer and see if the ice is built up on the coils. You may have a bad defrost heater and that causes a blockage of air flow.

« Last Edit: August 09, 2009, 09:57:51 AM by JWWebster »

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I have removed the real panel, there is no ice buildup on the condensor coil and the coil itself is at room temp. The compressor is a sealed scroll model, I can feel the vibration of it opperating and it is around 90f to the touch. Lee.

I just finished removing all the food from the freezer, and the back panel, the evaporator is frozen. I guess that means that the defroster is not working. I am melting the ice right now, does anyone have advice on how to check the defrost timer etc. I do have all the tools needed just not the know how for small appliances, Lee.

I don't think there is a refrigerant leak and the compressor is working. Now that the evaporator in the back of the freezer is de-iced I pluged the unit back in and the condenser lines are already frosting up a little. I believe I need help figuring out what component of the defrosting system is in need of replacement, Lee.

There are only three parts to the defrost system in that refrigerator.

1. Defrost Timer2. Defrost Thermostat3. Defrost Heater

This GE refrigerator uses glass tube type heaters and once they freeze they are crap. Even if they still test ok now there is a good chance they will fail soon.

The good news is the heaters are cheap and include a new defrost thermostat, part # WR51X10101

The defrost timer is also cheap, part # WR9X489

What I often finds happens on these refrigerators is the defrost timer stops working. This make the coils freeze up and all that extra frost damages the glass heaters.

Enter the part numbers I gave you in the search box at the top left were it says, "Enter Part Number" to check prices, but I believe you can replace your whole defrost system in this refrigerator for less then you would expect.